High Cholesterol and Diabetes

High blood cholesterol is a condition in which you have too much cholesterol in your blood. By itself, the condition usually has no signs or symptoms. Thus, many people don't know that their cholesterol levels are too high (see What Makes Your Cholesterol High or Low?).

People who have high blood cholesterol have a greater chance of getting coronary heart disease, also called coronary artery disease. The higher the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood, the greater your chance is of getting heart disease. The higher the level of HDL cholesterol in your blood, the lower your chance is of getting heart disease. This is why it is so important to control your cholesterol. High cholesterol levels are not just found in adults. Children may have high cholesterol, too, even without being overweight.

High cholesterol levels are not just found in adults. Children may have high cholesterol, too, even without being overweight. Over years, cholesterol overload has similar hazards as in adults - clogged arteries and injury to the heart.

It's no surprise that the Mediterranean diet is linked to good health. Small reliance on meat and scant use of butter limit the saturated fat that raises blood cholesterol and promotes development of other health conditions.

Food labels now list the amount of trans fat in foods. Consumers, however, need to develop some strategies to use this new information effectively. Learn about trans fat and incorporate these simple strategies as you choose what to eat.

Scientists still are unsure how much daily vitamin E is best. The committee that created the latest federal government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans says that many adults and children in the U.S. may not consume optimum amounts of vitamin E.

Recent studies have sparked debate over whether or not garlic can help lower cholesterol. While that discussion rages back and forth, another set of findings about garlic's health benefits tends to get overlooked.